Reach for the stars: A 24-year-old keeps his dream of being an astronomer alive through his art

Some of us had dreams of being an astronaut. Jarrod Chua has kept his dream job alive by using his hobby of drawing to spread his love of space

By: Jeremy Goh & Marcus Ching

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Jarrod Chua, 24, holds up his merchandise from his brand, SpaceyTales, which he personally runs as he pursues his diploma in Singapore Institution of Technology PHOTO: Marcus Ching

Space. The Final Frontier. A great deal has been said about that starry realm, and ever since mankind first learned to reach past our planet there has been no shortage of people looking to the sky and wishing for a chance to see their own planet, from the heavens above. Indeed, it would be a safe bet to find roles like ‘astronomer’ or ‘astronaut’ as common dream jobs among young children.

And while it’s safe to say most of us left our dreams behind, one Singaporean has taken his dream to the next level. Meet Jarrod Chua, a 24-year-old polytechnic student currently studying under the Singapore Institute of Technology. While he currently studies for a Digital Communications and Integrated Media degree, online he is known better as SpaceyTales, an illustrator sharing facts about space in a fun and educational way.

Rise to Fame

His claim to fame came when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Nasa, reached out to him in 2020, offering $1,000 to convert one of his artworks into a postcard, concerning the James Webb Space Telescope - a US$9 billion (SGD$12 billion) telescope designed to look further into the void of space. As of now, his work has seen wide acclaim, being well-received by netizens around the world, with his Instagram having reached 17.4K followers as of this month, and 30K followers across Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, and Webtoon.

With his business growing, Jarrod Chua spreads his brand’s reach by making plushies and an upcoming book in collaboration of an astronaut PHOTO: Marcus Ching

Adding on to this critical acclaim is his up-and-coming new book in collaboration with a famous astronaut, Jeffrey Williams. The book will be experiences Jeffrey Williams had when becoming an astronaut and taking Jarrod’s art style to twist it into a fun and kid-friendly reading experience. Currently, the books are in the works as he continues to communicate with the astronauts of his drawings and updates on the story. Coming along with books are his space themed plushies! In the making are plushies that are in the design of our solar system, this includes the moon and earth in the look of Jarrod’s own art style.

But he wasn’t always set on just illustrating the stars. When asked about his love of the stars, Jarrod recounted how he originally had his sights on something higher.

Dreams and Aspirations

“My original dream was actually to be an astronomer. I remember I wrote it down in one of those primary school assignments that was like, “what do you want to be when you grow up.” And I remember writing down that I wanted to be an astronomer, which was basically someone that studies the stars.”

He continues to explain how his love of space stemmed from his childhood, stating:

“I’ve loved space ever since I was young. Since young my mom would take me to the library, I would somehow just gravitate towards the space books. And from there, I realised my passion for space.”

Since then, his love of space has led him on a path over the moon, one he walks proudly. However, that wasn’t always the case. Going down the path of being an illustrator, he told us about why he decided not to shoot for the stars.

“As I progressed to secondary school, and slowly to poly, I knew that I would not be able to come through (with my dream) because I wasn't that proficient with my maths and science, and I know you have to be quite good at those to be in the space industry.”

But he was not deterred for long, going on to say that while he aimed for the moon and missed, he had struck gold in another way. “I thought that that is fine, I will try to achieve something related to space in another way. That's what drew me to drawing about space. And from there, I drew space comics, and it gained a bit of traction on the Instagram page where I put my space comics.”

The infeasibility of his dream combined with his knack for drawing made his next path clear; he would share his love of space with others through his art. But he was not always so sure about whether his course of action was the right one. For a while, Jarrod also experimented with other ideas, with little success.

Jarrod runs his unique business of space themed brand, SpaceyTales, he shares fun facts and information of space using his cute and engaging art style to capture the hearts of space enthusiast PHOTO: Marcus Ching

“(my success) was actually trial and error, it wasn't an instant success overnight. Initially, I had many different art accounts that didn’t work out, such as comics about very random things like food. I remember I had a page that was about taking different quotes from different movies and then illustrating a scene where they all took place. And that didn't take off. So I had many trial and errors in regards to what I wanted to pursue in an art project.”

But with a little input from his friends, the stars aligned and he soon realised that combining his love of space and his artistic talent was what would find him the greatest results, and allow him to reconnect with his love of the final frontier.

“But somehow, I knew that I just wanted to draw something. But I didn't know what to draw, so one day my friends just told me that why don't you just draw space since you’re into it so much. So from there, I also realised that actually I can draw something, I can combine my one of my many likings, which is space, with drawing. So that's where SpaceyTales was born.”

Contrary to its current state, Jarrod was first sceptical about whether his passion could really live on in his artwork. But the reception to his art from not just his friends and family, but from those online quickly reassured him, much to his surprise.

“You can say it was a sudden realisation because of the responses that I got, when I drew my space comics, and the responses were overwhelmingly positive, and I got various responses from teachers all around the world, the elderly and young alike. And so from there, I felt that this could be something of interest to the community and to the world.”

He goes on to say how despite being an astronomer was infeasible, his talent at art and the support shown from his surroundings have made his dreams live again.

“You could say that those two things pushed me towards my passion for space and creating this space brand of mine called SpaceyTales. So what kept me maintaining this passion is actually the countless feedback and support that I get from my friends and just the joy that I get from drawing comics and transforming complex space information into engaging pieces of our entertainment content. And so I thought that these few things bring me joy and plus the feedback, which keeps me going will decide, okay, I will keep going.”

Jarrod not only thinks of the present, but the future of his brand too. His work continues to grow as he transitions from an amateur company that many seem to be hesitant to work with to a respectable and reliable company.

“So my next few steps will be immediately after I graduate, which is in six months. I would like to start a company and build SpaceyTales into something more legitimate so that I can deal with clients more professionally as well.”

Future Endeavours

Jarrod might seem like he has everything under control but he also relies on his peers and fans of his art to continue producing and managing his brand. He takes his feedback and transforms it into his drive to improve his work.

“What kept me to maintain this passion is actually the countless feedback and support that I get from my friends and just the joy that I get from drawing comics and transforming complex space information into engaging pieces of our entertainment content. And so I thought that these few things bring me joy and plus the feedback, which keeps me going.”

Jarrod next to a poster of his art. He has handled and worked with multiple science companies such as Science Centre Singapore and many more PHOTO: Marcus Ching

Dreams come in size big and small but in Jarrod’s case, even though his dreams were not feasible to him in the first place, he managed and adapted his talents and hobbies to make his dream a reality in another unique way. Even if you think your dream is unachievable, there is another way to fulfil it, “ From there on, I seem to have this tagline where I say, to inspire the next generation to look at the stars.”